Using Twitter to predict the onset of depression

We are a group of psychologists at Trinity College Dublin. We are conducting a study that aims to test if we can predict depressive episodes before they happen by studying how networks of symptoms change as a person approaches the start of an episode. We are aiming to do this using patterns of Twitter use and the kind of language used in Tweets.

Participants will fill out a short questionnaire regarding their current depressive symptoms, basic demographic information (e.g. age, gender) and any depressive episodes that may have occurred within the past year. They will also be asked to download their Tweets from Twitter and then send them to us using a secure link.

Details:

We are looking for:

Participants, who:

are over 18 years old

have been on Twitter for at least one year and have over 500 Tweets

Location:

Online/home-based

Expenses:

There are no expenses associated with the study and participants will not be reimbursed for their participation.